Boston has severed its pilot with Flock Safety after a vendor error enabled a nationwide lookup feature that should have been disabled under contract. During a trial that deployed about 45 automated license-plate reader (ALPR) cameras from April to September 2025, Flock inadvertently allowed other law-enforcement agencies to access license-plate and vehicle data within the first three days; Boston says the function was quickly turned off and, thereafter, access required a written request to the police department. City policy requires vendors to prohibit data sharing and to delete recordings after 30 days unless retained for specific legal or investigative reasons. Mayor Michelle Wu says Boston will continue using ALPR technology only if access controls, retention limits, and public oversight are guaranteed, and the police department has since tested alternatives from Motorola and Axon.
The episode sits inside a larger privacy debate: an Electronic Frontier Foundation analysis of Flock logs shows widespread, often frivolous searches using the nationwide lookup, prompting criticism that dropdown justifications added in late 2025 don’t verify legitimate need. Numerous cities have dropped Flock over concerns about uncontrolled surveillance, data sharing, cost, and misuse, although the company reports new city partnerships outpacing cancellations this year. Boston’s response emphasizes contractual enforcement, technical safeguards, and publicly approved policies as prerequisites for continued use.
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